I don't want to see Wieters playing for the O's until.......

[Palmoripken]

It's a good problem to have. Glad to see Caleb hitting. I thought the league figured him out after his August streak. I have to say this much. Caleb's emergence makes Matt's likely FA departure more bearable.

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[wildcard]

Fan's perspective: Fan doesn't agree with MLB management = management doesn't do what's necessary to win games.

Duquette's and Showalter's perspective: I appreciate that some fans think they have a better idea how to win games than I do, but I'll continue down the path I think will win the Orioles more games.

I acknowledge that management makes mistakes, but there are few black/white issues in baseball. The idea that management knowingly leaves wins on the table by making clearly wrong decisions that even casual fans would never make, usually to cater to players' feelings is... well... odd.

I respect Buck as a great manager. I don't agree with every move he makes but I don't have his insight into what he is dealing with. 96 wins and his third manager of the year award speaks for itself.

[mdbdotcom]

I hope Matt comes back and gives Caleb some time off in June/July before being traded to a National League contender whose catcher went down for a couple of good prospects.

[Dipper9]

Do you not trust Buck? Or Dan Duquette? Why would you think that they'd start Wieters every day over Joseph if Wieters wasn't the option they thought was going to win the most games? And in any case, I hope you're not suggesting that they sit Wieters until such time as Joseph's number just return to reality. Yes, he's 9-for-24, but obviously that's not representative of his ability (well, unless you're interpreting that .375 average as a typical short-term variation around his low-200s true talent).

I'm not buying this. Joseph went through an absolutely brutal slump to end last season, which dropped his average significantly. The rest of the season he was a solid .250ish hitter.

I'm all for making Wieters earn his playing time. If it messes up his contract for next year, so be it. Matt had 2 chances to extend with us, and he blew us off because he's a Boras client. Now he's injured and faces a less contract than what we would have extended him on. Hey, that's the breaks kid.

I like Matt and wish him well. I even hope he returns to form and extends with us. But he lost me as a true fan of his with the way he wouldn't even discuss an extension with the Birds.

[Dipper9]

It's... interesting... that so many of you think that the Orioles will prioritize (or will have great difficulty prioritizing) future contracts, egos, emotions, veteranocity and individual wants over winning baseball games.

Buck has picked veterans over the better player many times, including people like Brian Roberts over Flaherty after Ryan was lighting it up in June of 2013, and sticking with Jim Johnson in 2013 which may have cost us the playoffs. I know buck wants to win, but sometimes he chooses the veteran as his go-to guy.

[Herman]

I'd have to disagree, Matt Wieters's WORST offensive season (2010) is ~40 points of OPS higher than what Caleb has done in his career thus far. I know people are down on Wieters because of the hype, but I think they lose sight of how well his bat plays from the catcher position. He has a career OPS of .743, which would have been better than all but three qualifying catchers last season (Posey, Lucroy and Yan Gomes). If he had continued with the .839 he was sporting prior to injury, he would only be behind Posey.

I know that hype is part of the equation, but I have been disappointed with Wieters' offensive production. He has only had one season where he hit over .249 and for a 6'5" 230lb guy he hits A LOT of weak pop ups, grounders and lazy fly balls. Granted, for his position his production is relatively fine, but aside from his ability to hit 20-25 home runs I don't think he's a good hitter.

[CA-ORIOLE]

I hope Matt comes back and gives Caleb some time off in June/July before being traded to a National League contender whose catcher went down for a couple of good prospects.

Other than Wieters being great and tearing it up on our way to the playoffs, this is pretty much an ideal scenario for me.

[Redskins Rick]

Other than Wieters being great and tearing it up on our way to the playoffs, this is pretty much an ideal scenario for me.

a repeat of Dempster 1983 WS MVP award, would be swell to see.

[Dipper9]

Matt is an above average catcher behind the plate, with a cannon for an arm that keeps running from stealing bases.

I dont buy that Joseph is far superior.

This is the real question now, is it not? He couldn't even play one game before his arm inflamed, so we really don't know what kind of arm he'll have when he returns.

[Three Run Homer]

I want Matt back with the team as soon as he is healthy. Ideally, Matt is the "everyday" catcher and Caleb Joseph is his backup this year, which means that Matt would start about 75 percent of the time. Matt's workload may need to be managed at first.

That said, I don't think that Buck will have a problem making a performance-based decision about Matt in the event that he plays poorly. He didn't have a problem putting Ubaldo in the pen last year, despite having 48 million reasons to keep him in the rotation.

[Dipper9]

I want Matt back with the team as soon as he is healthy. Ideally, Matt is the "everyday" catcher and Caleb Joseph is his backup this year, which means that Matt would start about 75 percent of the time. Matt's workload may need to be managed at first.

That said, I don't think that Buck will have a problem making a performance-based decision about Matt in the event that he plays poorly. He didn't have a problem putting Ubaldo in the pen last year, despite having 48 million reasons to keep him in the rotation.

Wieters is Buck's guy though. Ubaldo was an outsider signed as a free agent.

My prediction is that Ubaldo gives the Orioles a better year in 2015 than Matt.

[Redskins Rick]

This is the real question now, is it not? He couldn't even play one game before his arm inflamed, so we really don't know what kind of arm he'll have when he returns.

Key question for sure.

We dont know, its pretty much uncharted waters for sure as a catcher.

But, he should come back, given that 79% of the pitchers come back throwing and back to normal.

[CA-ORIOLE]

Wieters is Buck's guy though. Ubaldo was an outsider signed as a free agent..

This is very true.

[Redskins Rick]

This is very true.

There is a lot of respect around the league for Matt.

His homies are some of his worse critics.

[Frobby]

Am I to assume that you think Buck and Joseph are wrong, that Wieters is very much overrated by them?

Not at all. The point I was trying to make is that even though some posters here think Joseph is as good or better than Wieters defensively, calls a better game, etc., even Joseph himself doesn't think so (or, he's just an exceedingly modest guy). That said, Joseph has proven to be a very good defensive catcher, much better than advertised when he was in the minors. If he could manage a .700ish OPS, he'd be an above average starting catcher in the major leagues IMO. I'm waiting to see how his bat holds up over the course of this season.